Technology has made it possible for you to access the Internet on an airplane! How exactly does WiFi work on planes? Amy joins DNews to answer this complicated question.

From the passenger’s perspective in-flight WiFi is as simple as turning on your computer and connecting to the network. But there is a lot more going on that what we see.

There are a couple of ways to connect to the internet on a plane, one is by ground base system, stations set up around the country provide over flying planes with contact points. An antenna on the planes transmits and receives to and from these ground based towers bringing WiFi to the plane. But of course this doesn’t work when you are flying overseas or out of range of the ground network.

The alternative is a satellite base system that uses an antenna on the top of the plane.